Dumping-car.



A. LICHTENSTEIN.

, DUMPING CAB.

APPLicA Tl0N mmm/m. 21. 1911.

Pafented June 4, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEtT h w wm MND

wlTNEssEs' ATToH N Y f A. LICHIE'NSTEIN.

DUIVIPING CAR.

APPLICATION FILED MAILZI. I9ll.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY ENFER STATE@ ALEXANDER LICHTENSTEIN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

nUMPmG-can Application filed March 21, 1917.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER LIGHTEN- STEIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented oertain new and useful Impovements in Dumping-'8211s, of which the following is a speci cation.

This invention relates to improvements in dumping cars, and more particularly to coal, cars.

The main object of the invention is to provide a car of this character so constructed that all possibility ofstealing the contents thereof is prevented and which while providing chutes or skids for rapidly discharging' the contents also edects great economy in space owing to the foldable formation of the skids within the car.

Another object is to provide a car of this character having inner chutes or skids i which are automatically oldable on the filling of the car to adapt it to hold a larger quantity and which are automatically extensible to provide inclined skids` for the discharge oithe contents when the hopper Qloors are opened.

lith the foregoing and other objects in View, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter.' described and claimed, it being understood that fhanges in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed may be made within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention. I

In the accompanying drawings:

y Figure 1 represents a side elevation partly Vin section of a coal car constructed in ac cordance with this invention,

Fig. 2 represents an end' view thereof partly in section, A y

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail of a portion of the body of the car showing a slightly modified form of the invention, and

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional View showing the mounting of the shaft which controls the locking dogs or pawls of the door controlling means.

In the embodiment illustrated, a car 1 is shown primarily intended for use as a coal car, but which obviously may be used for transporting other material, such as lime, cement or the like.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 4,1918.

Serial No. 156,354.

nected at the upper ends of the hopper as shown at 6 and are provided with ordinary spring hinges 7 such as are used on screen doors and the like and (see Figs. l and 3) which exert their tension to normally hold the doors in closed position and to return themyto closed position after the contents of the car have been discharged. 'These doors, when they car is filled will be held against opening under the weight of the contents by means of a lock 8 which is passed through apertures in suitable interlocking hasps or keepers 9 carried by the two doors.

Means for opening those doors 5 against l.'

the tension of their springs 7 are shown in the form of sprocket chains 10, each of which is secured at one end to the lower free end of one of the doors 5 and extends longitudinally under the car body passing over supporting pulleys 11 and 12 to sprocket wheels 13 mounted on opposite ends of the trucks 2 in chambers formed in the ends of the car body. rlhese chains are pivotally connected at their ends to the wheels 13 as is shown in Fig. 1.

These sprocket wheels 13, two of which are mounted at each end of the car are fixed to shafts as 14 mounted in suitable bearings 15 carried by thel trucks 2 and thev ends of which extend beyond opposite sides of the car body and are provided with hand wheels 16 for oper# ating the chains. vIt will thus be seen that two chains 10 are employed in connection with each door 5 as is shown clearly in Fig. 2.

The trucks 2 are provided with depending bearings 2 in )vhich the axles A are supported. a

Fixed to one faceof each sprocket wheel 13 is a, ratchet wheel 17 with which co operates a locking pawl or dog 18 designed to engage the teeth of said ratchet and lock-the wheels 13 against turning in one direction while permitting them to turn in the opposite direction so that When the doors 5 are opened these paWls engaging the ratchet Wheels Will prevent the doors from being closed by the tension of their springs 7 and will thereby hold the doors open until the pavvls are disengaged from the ratchets in a manner presently to be described.

Arranged parallel with the shafts 14 at opposite ends of the car are rods 19 mounted to slide transversely of the car body in suitable bearings 20, here shown in the form of tubular casings 21 projecting laterally from lugs 22 carried by the car body and in Which are disposed sockets 23 in which the ends ot rods 19 are mounted to slide. The inner eilds of these tubes 21 have apertured .closures 23 in which the rods 19 slide and against the inner face of the right-hand casing normally bears a disk 27 fixed to rod 19 and between which andthe outer end of the casing is mounted a spring 24 which exerts its tension normally to move the rod 19 to- Ward the left as shown in Fig. 4 thereby positioning the dogs 13v which are carried 'by said shaft for engagement with the 'teeth of the ratchet Wheels 17. The other disk 27 is secured to the rod 19 and engages the outer end of the casing 21 at the right of the ear as shown clearly in Fig. 4 and in this instance the spring 24 acts between the inner face of the casing and the disk to assist the other spring 24 in holding the rod toward the left in the position shown in Fig. 4 with the dogs 18 engaged With the ratchet Wheels 17. These rods 19 have cam lugs 25 thereonwhich are designed to be engaged by handles 26 under the control of an operator :for releasing the dogs 18 from the ratchets 17 when it is desired to close the doors 5 of the hopper and this release is accomplished by moving said handles 26 to shift the rods 19 toward the right shown in Fig. 2 whereby the springs 24 are compressed betweendisks 2,7 carried by said rods and the inner end of one bearing and the.l outer end of the other, and when said handles are released the expansion orrl the springs 24 will cause the rods 19 to move in the opposite direction and thereby position the dogs or pawls 18 in engagen'ient With the ratchet teeth of the Wheel 17.

The handles 26 which operate these rods 19 are here shown mounted on brackets 28 carried by the sides of the car as shown in Fig. 2.

The body of this car 1 may be of any suitable ordesired formation and as shown in Figs. 1 `and 2, has upright straight side Walls 30, the end Wall 31 thereof bemg recessed to provide chambers 32 in which are mounted the operating mechanism for the hopper doors 5, said chambers having upright inner IWalls 34.

Walls 33 connected With the front Walls of the ends proper by inclined tops 34 as is shown clearly in Fig. 1.

Mounted in the car adjacent 'the upright` walls 33 of the chambers 32 are tubular cas- 70 ings 35 forming guides for rods 36 which are pivotally connected With skid members 37 soon to be described. These casings 35 are slotted longitudinally as shown at 38 to permit the rods 36 to move vertically in said 75 casings, the connection of said rods With said skids 37 projecting through the slots 3S. These slots 38 extend only a portion of the length of the casings 35 so as to prevent the contents of the-car from entering the casings. The skids 37 which are designed to permit the emptying of the contentsof the car Without shoveling and without decreasing'the capacity of the car, such as is occasioned by A providing permanent inclined end Walls, when in raised operative position, form a continuation of the hopper Walls and of the These skids are constructed of oldable sections A39 and 40, the upper sec *90 tions 40 being pivotally connected with ne rods 36 and the lower sections l39 similarly connected with the upper ends of the hopper 3. These sections 39 and 40.are hingedly connected at their adjacent edges and are S0195 proportioned that when a skid is arranged inl its folded position the sections Will lit squarely against the bottom of the car and against the adjacent end Wall 33 of one of the chambers 32 and consequently do not de- 100 crease the capacity of the car, the contents when inserted, causing them to move automatically into lowered position.

rlhe skid sections 39 and 40- are raised from their folded position in' which theyare 1075' at right angles to each other, to an inclined position in alinement With each other to shoot the material into the hopper 3 by means oi'coiled springs 41 Which encircle telescoping supporting members engaged with the lower tace of the sections 39. Each of the skids 37 is exactly alike in' construction as is the operating mechanism therefor, and hence only one will be describedin detail. l The projecting supporting members for the skids are here shown composed of three telescoping sections 42, 43, and 44, sectionl 42 being connected at its upper end With a plate 45 which is mounted to slide in a'j keeper 46 carried by the lower* face of the 120,

ed in a depending casing 47 carried by the 125 bottom of the car, said section 44 being xed 4to the bottom of said casing. As shown in Fig.

1, the telescoping supporting and projecting sections and the springs which operate them will be completely housed in said casings 47 130 whenthe skids are in folded lowered positionsuch as is caused by the filling of the l car.v lt will thus be understood that when the Weight Yon these skids is reduced the springs 41 will automatically raise the skids and position them at theinclination shown in Fig. 1 so that the contents of the car will slide down and be discharged through the ho per 3.

hile it is to be understood that the tops of these cars may be constructed in any suitable manner, the car here shown has sloping walls at the top with steps 48 to permit the trainmen to obtain access to the lling opening which is shown in Figs. 1 andl 2 in the form of a trap door 49 hingedly connectedat one`end to an upstanding flange 50 and -locked at its other end to a suitable standard 51 as is shown clearly in Fig. 1. Stops 52 are shown on which the door 49 is designed to rest when in open position as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. tends laterally from the supporting base of this trap door to provide a passageway for the operator.

Ladders as 54 are mounted at' opposite ends of the car to provide access to the top thereof as is usual in cars of this character.

ln the form shown in Fig. 3, the roof of the car constructed in the form of two outwardly opening doors as 55 hingedly connected to the upright end walls of the car as shown at 56. These doors 55 are designed to be operated by cables 57, one of which is attached to each door at any suitable point, being here shown about midway,

the width of the door as indicated at 58.' These cables pass" over pulleys 59 carried by the car and are adapted` to be wound around reels 60 disposed at the sides under the car as shown in Fig. 3. it will thus be seen that by winding up these reels GO by means of the handles 61 thereof, that the doors 55 will be opened to permit filling of the car and the unwinding of said reels will permit the doors to drop into closed position by gravity, in which position. they are locked together.

In. this form of the invention, 12g skid 37 is shown .formed in a single piece instead of in sections as is shown in the other figures and the wall of the car 62 in connection with Which said skid operates is shown curved, the free end of the skid being always adja cent said Wall either in its raised or lowered position, the peculiar curvature of said wall. providing for this arrangement. The telescoping supporting and projecting means for this skid 37 is similar in principle to that shown in the other figures but is slightly different in construction, the sections 42', 43and 44 of said member being struck on an arc and telescopically engaged to provide for the raising and lowering of the ski-d 37 which moves inthe are of a circle in this A platform 53 'eX- form of the invention. In this structure a coiled spring 41 is completely'housed within the sections 42', 43 and 44', all of which are shown tubular in conformation.

In the operation of these improved cars, when the'carsare empty, the folding skids mountedfthere'in are held in raised position by the supporting and projecting members Figs. 1 and 2, or the folding doors 55 as.

shown in Fig. 3 are locked in closed position so that none of the contentsl can be removed surreptitiously either from the top or the bottom of the car.

When it is desired to empty the car, the.

' lock 8 which secures the doors 5 is disengaged and the weight of the material within the cary will force said doors open into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, in which position they will be locked bythe engagement of the pawls 18 in the teeth of the ratchet. wheel 17. As the contents of the car flows out through the hopper 3, the weight on the skids 37 is gradually decreased and these skids will be moved upwardly by their supporting and projecting lsprings and thereby form inclined chutes along which the material remaining in the car will slide down into thfe hopper 3 Fthereby insuring complete emptying of thecar, the skids when in elevated position being shown in alinement with the inclined members 34 which' constitute the tops of the chambers 32and the bottoms of the coal compartments at the ends of the car.

After the car has been completely7 emptied and it is desired to close the doors 5 ready for receiving further material to be transported7 the handles 26 are actuated in the manner above described to release the dogs 18 from the ratchets 17 and thereby permit'. the doors'5 to close under the action of their springs 7 and when so closed they will be locked in the manner above referred to, the releasing of the handles 2G permitting the dogs to fly backinto engagement with the ratchet teeth.

lf the weight of the material within the hopper 3 does not operate to open the doors 5, this opening may be accomplished by means of the hand wheels 1G which are turned to rotate the shafts 14 thereby winding up the chains 10 on'sa-id wheels and forcibly opening the doors.

Fromvthe foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing,

'in connection with which the springs 41 and the advantages of the construction andof the method of operationv will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains and while I have described the principle of operation of the invention together with the device which I `now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made as are withinv the scope of the claimed invention.

I claim:

v 1. A car of the class described, closed throughout with a filling opening in its top and a discharge opening in its bottom, hinged closures for said openings, resilient means for automatically closing said bottom closure and holding it in closed position, means under the control of the oper-l ator for opening said closure against the tension of its closing means, and resilient means for locking said opening means to hold the closure in open position.

V2. A car of the class described, closed throughout with a filling opening in its top and a discharge opening in its bottom,

hinged closures. for said openings, resilient means for automatically closing said bottom closurev and holding it in closed position, means under the control of the operator for opening said closure against the tension of its closing means, resilient means for locking said opening means to hold the closure in openposition, and means for releasing said resilient locking means to permit the closure to automatically close under the action of its resilient closingmeans.

3. A car of the .class described having a discharge opening in its bottom, a downwardly opening closure for said opening, a

rotatable shaft carried by said car, a rod mounted parallel with said shaft to slide longitudinally, cooperating elements carried by said shaft and rod, and means for moving said rod to disengage said 'elemente t4. A car of the classdescribed having a discharge opening in its bottom, a downwardly opening closure for said opening, a rotatable shaft carried by said. car, a sprocket wheel iixed to said shaft, a ratchet carried by said sprocket wheel, a rod mounted parallel with said shaft, a dog carried l'by said rod in position to engage said ratchet, said rod being; mounted to slide longitudinally to disengage the` dog from the ratchet, and a coiled spring mounted on said rod for returning the dog to operative position.

Lacasse' 5. The combination with a car, of a skid hinged at one end to the bottom thereof and ycar on the filling of the latter.

7. The combination with a, car having an opening in its bottom, a skid hinged at one end to said bottom adjacent said opening, a telescoping supporting device for said skid, ayspring operating in connection with said support to elevate the skid and hold it in raised position on the reduction of weight on said skid.4

8. The combination with a car having an opening in its bottom, a skid hinged at one end to said bottom adjacent said opening and projecting into said vcar, resilient means for raising said skid, and means for guiding the skid during its raising and lowering operation.

9. The combination with a car having an opening in its bottom, a skid hinged at one end to said bottom adjacent said opening and projecting into said car, resilient means for raising said skid, means for guiding the skid during its raising and lowering operation, said guiding means comprising telescopically engaged members connected with said skid and with the car bottom, respectively.

10. The combination with a car having an opening in its bottom, a skid hinged at one end to said bottom adjacent said opening andy projecting into said car, resilient means for raising said skid, means for guiding the skid during its raising and lowering operation, said guiding means comprising telescopically engaged membersl connected M35 with said skid and with the car bottom, 

